THE  LIBRARY  OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY  OF 

NORTH  CAROLINA 


THE  COLLECTION  OF 
NORTH  CAROLINIANA 


G378 

UxK3 

1833A 


"DIVERSITY  OF  N.C.  AT  CHAPEL  HILL 


00036720735 


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Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

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University  of  North  Carolina  at  Chapel  Hill 


http://www.archive.org/details/lectureonsubjectOOande 


A mmMWMW 


ON    THE   SUBJECT    OF 


'-EXC1TIJ\^G  EJflTJL^lTlOJX^  X.l*  SCJIOOZ.S 


BY  THE  VSR  OF 


REWARDS  AND  PUNISHMENTS." 

DELIVERED    BEFORE 

THE  NORTH  CAROLINA 

INSTITUTE  OF  EDUCATIO]^, 

JUNE  27,  1833; 


BY  WALKER  AXDERSOX,  A.  M. 

Atljunct  Professor  of  Natural  Phili>so|)fiy  and  Astronomy  in  the 
University  of  North  Carolina. 


PRINTED  A\D  PUBLISHED  BY    I.  C.  PATRIDCJEi. 


183*. 


L.ErTUI?E. 


^]r.  President  and  Gentlemen  of  the  Institute: 

HowRVKR  inrom})etent  1  know  myself  to  be  to  the  task  assigned  me  by  youi 
flattenncr  ;ipiiniiitment,  the  ardent  and  sincere  interest  T  fee!  in  the  ailvaru-enifnt  of 
the  great  cause  you  have  undertaken,  has  impelled  nie,  though  with  much  diffidence, 
to  come  forward  and  lend  my  feeble  aid  to  your  benevolent  and  patriotic  exertions. — 
In  the  great  economy  of  nature,  we  often  see  the  grandest  results  brought  about  by 
causes  and  instruments  seemingly  the  most  insignificant,  and  1  will  not  be  deterred 
from  casting  my  mite  into  the  mass  of  philanthropic  and  vigorous  effort  made  by 
yourselves  and  others  in  the  great  work  of  Education.     At  the  same  time,  I  must 
regret  that  I  am  not  sustained  in  all  my  opinions  on  the  particular  subject  assigned 
for  my  consideration,  by  the  better  informed  and  more  experienced  judgment  of  your 
enlightened  body.     When  I  received   notice  of  my  appointment  to  the  duty,  1  was 
apprized  that  one  motive  for  it,  was  the  understanding  that  my  practice  and  opinions 
on  the  subject  of  rewards  and  punishments  in  schools,  at  the  same  time  that  they 
differed  from  those  which  are  ordinarily  esteemed  as  correct,  accorded  with  the  views 
of  the  members  of  the  Institute.     This  is  true  only  to  a  certain  extent;  but  I  have 
too  much  respect  for  your  liberality,  to  feel  any  hesitation  in  the  full  and  unreserved 
communication  of  the  observations  I  have  made,  and  the  consequent  conclusions  to 
which  I  have  arrived,  in  relation  to  this  subject,  hoping  that  the  experience  upon 
which  they  are  founded  will  give  them  a  value  to  which  they  have  no  other  claim. 
The  assent  of  the  mind  is  readily  obtained  to  the  universally  accredited  remark, 
that  the  great  object  of  education  is  to  train  the  youthful  mind  for  its  future  destinies, 
and  to  fit  the  unformed  powers,  both  moral  and  intellectual,  for  the  stern  collisions  of 
the  world — yet,  at  the  same  time  that  this  truth  is  universally  conceded,  it  exercises 
as  little  salutary  influence  in  the  economy  of  schools,  as  if  it  were  the  despised  theory 
of  the  visionary.     The  vicious  system  of  geneialization,  which  prevails  to  so  great 
an  extent,  is  utterly  at  variance  with  this  fundamental  principle.     With  the  tyranny 
of  a  moral  Procrustes,  the  schoolmaster  applies  his  system,  whatever  it  may  be,  with- 
out distinction  and  without  remorse,  to  every  diversity  of  object  within  liis  intluencc. 
He  whi»  has  within  his  bosom  the  gcr.n  jf  a  master  spirit,  whiise  t- nergies  are  to  con- 
trol a  nation,  is  trained  in  the  same  path  with  the  gentle  being  whose  chief  mflucn'ce 


-.    •      .  ■  4  .,       • 

fin  the  happiiiPBs  of  tlie  -world  consists  in  the  counteraction  and  correction  of  the  vio- 
lences of  those  verv  enersies.  The  seckided  votirv  of  [ihilosophy,  or  the  muses,  has 
his  sensitive,  though  vigorous  mind,  bound  down  and  cramjied  by  tlie  same  dii^ciiiline 
which  is  found  necessary  for  tlie  rude  and  robust  facuUies  of  the  man  of  business. 
The  application  of  these  remarks  to  the  subject  before  us  is  obvious  enough,  and  the 
evils  of  the  indiscriminate  wse  of  any  system  of  discipline  are  particularly  striking, 
when  we  consider  its  inHuence  on  the  two  great  divisions  into  which  the  objects  of 
our  solicitude  are  divided.  I  mean  the  two  sexes.  Here  we  find  two  classes  of  hu- 
man beings  obviously  designed  for  different  s})hercs  of  action  in  the  world,  and  fur- 
nished with  capacities  and  powers  respectively  adajited  to  their  relative  duties.  The 
man  designed  tor  bold  conceptions,  vigorous  action  and  noble  daring — the  woman 
for  softness  and  submission — the  former  is  to  be  fitted  lor  the  laborious  occupations  of 
common  life,  for  the  perilous  achievements  of  the  tented  field,  or  for  tlic  more  intel- 
lectual but  still  severe  contests  of  the  senate — the  latter,  for  the  unostentatious  duties 
of  the  domestic  circle,  the  numerous  charities  of  a  mother  and  a  wi.*c  and  for  her  sum- 
mer-like influence  on  the  world. 

"For  contemplation,  he  and  valour  formed; 
For  softness,  she  and  sweet  attractive  grace." 

These  different  cjids  can  scarcely  be  accomplished  by  the  same  means.  As  the  pro- 
ducts of  the  tropics  require  a  different  and  more  delicate  culture  than  the  hanly  vege- 
tation of  the  Frigid  zone,  so  does  the  tender  and  susceptible  mind  of  the  wouian  de- 
mand a  gentler  nurture  than  the  more  robust  faculties  of  the  man;  and  as  the  genial 
warmth  of  the  vertical  sun  would  parch  and  wither  the  peculiar  products  of  the  north, 
while  the  flowerc  and  fruits  of  the  tropics  would  perish  beneath  the  withering  l-reath 
of  the  Arctic  storm,  as  that  discipline  which  would  with  its  gentle  influences  mould 
the  female  mind  to  all  the  grace  and  lovehness  of  its  nature  would  repress  the  energies 
bf  the  man,  and  the  sterner  system  of  culture  required  by  the  latter,  would  throw  the 
blight  of  desolation,  or  at  least  defdcment,  over  the  fair  field  it  essays  to  adorn. 

Let  this  distinction  then  be  kept  in  mind,  while  we  {)roceed  in  our  inquiries  respect- 
in<T  the  particular  subject  of  discussion,  and  with  the  repetition  of  my  regret,  tliat  on 
this  subject  our  opinions  should  to  any  extent  be  different,  1  will  proceed  to  the  con- 
sideration of  the  prevailing  system  of  exciting  emulation  by  the  use  of  rewards  and 
punishments suo-gesting  what  may  seem  to  be  its  delects  in  its  indiscriminate  appli- 
cation to  all  ages,  sexes  and  capacities,  and  pointing  out  its  excellence  in  many  of  its 
modes  of  action. 

The  true  object  of  education  is  not,  as  is  too  often  supposed,  the  mere  acquisition 
oT  learning— but  rather,  as  we  have  already  said,  the  adaptation  of  the  mind  to  grap- 


pie  with  the  neciiliar  duties  of  its  future  station — thedisciphiic  ofthehcirtto  jirepare  it 
for  the  re;'e[)tion  or  rejeclion  or  the  wliolesome  modification  of  tlie  di\i>rsili(d  in  '■■.en- 
ces  to  wlueh  it  will  he  exposeil  in  the  world.  In  the  iiiquirv,  then,  uheilier  an  |;ar- 
ticular  svstoni  is  of  value,  we  must  regard  the  ohjects  to  which  it  is  to  he  aiJiilicd,  the 
spliere  ofntify  for  whicli  those  objects  are  to  be  fitted  and  tiie  peculiar  tendency  "f 
the  system  lo  the  inipartinjj;  and  cultivaliiiix  those  principles  and  habits  of  iiction 
which  are  neeessarv.  And  here  the  viciousness  of  the  system  of  applying  the  same 
discipline  in  the  education  of  ttie  two  sexes  is  at  once  a|)parent — their  spheres  of  du- 
ty are  not  the  same  and  their  habits  of  action  must  be  diflcrent.  In  expres-iinir,  tlieHj 
niv  (lisa[iprobalion  of  the  prevailing  system  in  its  application  to  female  cducatinn,  I 
wish  to  Ipc  understood  as  holding  a  difierent  opinion  as  regards  tiie  education  of  the 
oth(  r  sex  and  t[iuugh  ny  opinion  derives  no  sanction  in  the  liitter  case  as  in  the  for- 
mer, from  experience,  yet  if  the  fundamental  princijiles  \vc  have  already  established 
be  true,  and  they  must  approve  themselves  to  every  mind,  we  may  arrive  at  a  satisfac- 
tory conclusion  by  tracing  tlieni  out  to  their  necessary  effects.  I  ought  here,  perhaps, 
Mr  President,  to  a])oloirize,  f(jr  liejiarting  from  what  was  prohably  tlie  primary  object 
cf  the  iublitute,  in  jiroposing  this  inquiry,  as  I  mean  in  tlie  first  place  and  chiefly  to 
call  \our  attention  to  the  inliuence  of  the  prevailing  system  of  rewards  and  punish- 
ments in  the  education  of  the  softer  sex,  intending,  however,  in  the  course  of  my  re- 
marks, to  advert  to  its  influence  ujion  both.  A  moment's  reflection  will,  I  hope,  jus.- 
tify  me  in  your  opinion  for  adopting  this  course.  The  education  of  the  woman  pre- 
sents a  claim  to  our  attention,  not  only  as  being  equally  important  to  the  objects  them- 
selves ,is  that  of  the  man,  but  as  exercising  an  inliuence  over  the  latter  which  no  sub- 
sequent neglect  or  culture  i;an  destroy.  It  is  a  matter  of  much  moment,  therefore,  whe- 
ther that  influence  be  wholesome  or  noxious.  If  wc  wish  to  have  Gracchi  we  must 
first  look  for  Cornelias.  And  I  now  esteem  myself  fortunate  in  having  jiropo.sed  this 
course  to  myself  since  you  have  already  this  inoining*  heard  the  effects  of  emulation 
in  the  education  of  boys  so  vividly  and  eloquently  portrayed,  portrayed  with  so  much 
force  as  might  well  make  me  despair  of  sustaining  with  any  success,  the  opposite 
wround  i  have  taken.  For  what  then,  let  us  now  inquire,  is  the  gentle  being  destined, 
whose  untainted  and  flexible  mind  is  to  be  subjected  to  the  ordeal  of  elementary  disci- 
pline? What  is  the  station  she  is  to  occupy  in  after  life?  What  are  the  peculiar  obliga- 
tions she  will  be  expected  to  discharge?  What  the  trials  and  iiindrances  with  which 
her  path  will  be  be^et7  The  answer  is  obvious  Her  station  is  that  of  an 
aid,    a  counsellor — a    subordinate — her  jieculiar  obligations   all    spring   out    of  her 


*  In  the  Anniversary  Address  of  Joseph  A.  Hill,  Esquire. 


(3 

.relation  to  man  as  her  jfuidc  and  governor — her  trials  and  hindrances  for  the  most 
part  may  be  traced  to  that  natural  corruption  of  the  heart,  whici  she  ])art3kts  with 
the  rest  of  Iier  species,  and  whii'h  ever  prompts  her  to  deny  and  n  sist  thf  .zrv.it  end 
of  her  beintT.  In  tliat  exquisite  picture  of  female  loveliness,  for  which,  as  an  a';i;ost 
perfect  model,  the  sex  owes  eternal  gratitude  to  the  poet  Milton,  Eve  is  made  f>  ad- 
dress her  husband  in  these  beautiful  words,  expressive  at  once  of  the  rel:\tion  between 
them  and  her  own  cheerful  acquiescence  in  the  subordinate  lot  to  which  she  was  cre- 
ated: 

"My  Author  and  Disposer,  what  thou  bid'st 

"Unargued  I  obey — so  God  ordains — 

"God  is  thy  law,  thou  mine;  to  know  no  more, 

"Is  woman's  happiest  knowledge  and  her  praise." 
And  what  is  the  disci[)line  by  which  we  seek  to  (prepare  this  gentle  being  for  the 
lovc-inspirmg  offices  of  her  station?  What  system  of  culture  do  we  ap]ity  t(.  those 
affections  which  are  to  soothe,  by  submission  and  forbearance,  the  stern  austi  rity  of 
the  companion  of  her  pilgrimage?  How  do  we  train  woman  for  that  relation  to  man, 
in  which,  like  the  ivy  that  embraces  and  embellishes  the  oak,  she  at  once  rr^  ives 
support  and  imparts  beauty?  Why,  the  answer  ih  ready.  Wc  prepare  her  for  her 
gentle  offices  of  love,  by  bringing  her  into  fierce  conflict  with  the  companions  of  her 
education — by  teaching  her  to  "hate  that  excellence  she  cannot  reach."  We  cultivate 
her  submissive  and  forbearing  spirit,  by  teaching  her  to  exult  in  the  pain  and  disap- 
pointment of  those  whom  the  natural  impulses  of  childhood  v\ould  otherwise  j  rui.ipt 
her  to  love.  We  mould  her  for  that  relation  to  man  in  which  she  derives  support  and 
imparts  pleasure,  by  stimulating  her  easily  excited  passions  in  the  contests  tor  supe- 
riority over  her  fellows — by  making  it  one  condition  of  her  exaltation,  that  her  com- 
panion should  be  degraded — of  her  pleasure,  that  her  rival  should  be  mortitit'd — for 
the  same  end  is  attained,  whether  the  successful  competitor  excels  by  the  vigorous 
and  well  regulated  efforts  of  her  own  mind,  or  in  consequence  of  the  feebleness  i>r  in- 
dolcnce  of  her  antagonist;  and  as  the  passions  exposed  to  the  influence  of  such  mo- 
tives belong  to  a  mortal,  and  are  tainted  with  the  universal  degradation  of  our  nature, 
"we  need  not  hope  they  will  escape  those  agitating  impulses  which 

"vex  the  mind 

"With  endless  storm;  whence  deeply  rankling  grows 

"The  partial  thought,  a  hstless  unconcern, 

"Cold  and  averting  from  our  neighbor's  good; 
"Then  dark  disgust  and  hatred" — 
tet  us,  in  imagination,  trace  the  j)rogress  of  one  of  these  beings,  on  whose  proper 
culture  the  happiness  of  man  so  largely  depends,  through  the  successive  positions  in 
t^'hich  she  is  prepared  for,  and  fulfils,  the  destines  of  her  sex — let  us  watch  the  effect's 


of  asssooiations  and  haliits  on  her  susceptible  mind,  in  the  counteraction  of  the  gcntlt' 
dictate?;  of  b'T  iinturr,  and  in  the  formation  of  masculini-  prin  •inles  of  action;  and 
then,  V.  ben  education  has  thus  unfominized  her,  let  us  attend  her  to  the  theatre  of 
her  peculiar  responsibilities.  We  see  her  placed  in  close  collision  with  the  com- 
panions of  her  childhood — we  hear  her  called  upon  to  press  forward  for  the  foremost 
place  in  the  contest  in  which  all  are  enptaged — we  see  the  workings  of  excited  passion 
in  the  kindled  eye,  the  flushed  cheek,  the  eager  step — we  discover,  with  concern,  her 
selfish  and  exxlusive  devotion  to  her  own  advancement;  for,  whatever  the  generous 
impulses  of  the  girl  may  prompt  her  to  feel  for  others,  the  unnatural,  but  easily  ac- 
quired, teelings  of  the  candidate  for  distinction  teach  her  to  suppress.  A  competi- 
tor in  the  race  falls — does  the  sympathizing  girl  hasten  to  the  aid  of  her  unfortunate 
rival,  and,  thoughtless  for  a  while  of  herself,  lend  all  her  generous  cares  to  the  restora- 
tion of  her  friend?  Oh,  no!  this  is  no  part  of  the  system.  She  is  taught  to  exult  that 
one  obstacle  to  her  success  has  been  removed,  and  that,  if  she  extends  assistance,  she 
may  convert  a  disgraced  into  a  triumphant  rival — she  denies  the  gentle  ])romptings 
of  her  sex,  and  passing  on,  urges  her  strength  against  some  new  and  envied  rival. — 
"\Ve  now  see  her,  as  the  contest  approaches  its  doubtful  termination,  excited  with  the. 
roost  hateful  passions;  her  young  bosom  throbs  with  the  sellish  joy  of  success,  re- 
gardless of  all  the  consequent  pain  to  others;  or  it  is  torn  with  the  angry  sob  of  disap- 
pointment, and  filled  to  overflowing  with  that  hateful  passion  "which  withers  at  ano- 
ther's joy."  Nor  does  the  evil  end  here — the  contest  is  again  and  again  renewed; 
not  as  before,  with  the  kindly  feelings  of  our  nature,  to  resist  the  tendencies  of  a  vi- 
cious system — but  with  those  feelings,  perverted  by  the  mortifications  of  defeat,  soured 
by  the  envied  success  of  others,  and  fitted,  by  the  previous  pollutions  of  passion,  for 
the  more  confirmed  and  debasing  entertainment  of  jealousy,  envy — hatred. 

When  the  gentle  girl,  with  all  the  affectionate  impulses  of  her  nature,  and  the  yield- 
ing graces  of  her  sex,  has  been  thus  converted,  by  the  operation  of  the  stern  system 
we  are  contemplating,  into  the  jealous  and  aspiring  woman,  we  will  attend  her  upon 
her  further  progress  into  life,  and  see  vpith  what  feelings  she  assumes,  and  with  what 
fidelity  she  is  prepared  to  fill,  her  appointed  station  in  the  world.  And  here  let  me 
take  occasion  to  point  out  a  distinction  in  the  respective  offices  of  the  sexes  which  is 
seldom  regarded,  but  which  goes  far  towards  explaining  why  a  system  which  may 
be  salutary  in  its  application  to  (he  one  sex,  produces  the  most  disastrous  influence 
on  the  other.  The  man,  the  educated  man  at  least,  exerts  his  influence  in  the  worldj 
by  opei  aliiig,  not  only  on  individuals,  but  on  the  mass — his  sphere  is  widely  extended, 
and  for  the  fulfilment  of  all  its  duties,  the  most  diversified  powers  are  demanded. — 
When  tnose  powers  are  adequate  to  the  full  discharge  ol  the  required  diitics,  it  is  n© 


cause  for  vcgi'et,  if  Lis  former  rhah,  but  now  subordinatr s,  shouU]  possess  loss  elevated 
powers,  iittcd  in  their  turn  for  their  secondary  spheres  of  actiiin.  it  rather  conduces 
to  the  benefit  of  society,  that  while 

"One  Caesar  hves,  a  thousand  are  forgot." 
It  is  not  so  with  woman — her  spliere  is  cireumscribed  and  complete  within  itself; 
and  on  lier  alone,  and  on  no  other,  depends  the  happiness  or  misery  ti;at  pervades  it. 
She  blesses  or  embitters  the  lot  of  the  one  individual  who  has  confided  to  her  keeping 
his  whole  store  of  earthly  hope  and  fruition;  and  to  that  man,  whose  one  only  fountain 
gives  out  to  him  the  waters  of  gladness,  or  the  waters  of  bitterness,  it  matters  not 
what  the  lot  of  his  fellows  around  him  may  be — he  must  drink  c)f  his  own  cuj),  either 
in  joy  or  in  anguish.  The  man,  like  the  God  of  day,  though  he  blesses  with  his 
warmest  beam  the  satellite  that  lives  most  nearly  to  himself,  sends  his  vivifying  in- 
fluence throughout  the  system,  and  aniuiates  and  enlightens  the  remotest  dependent 
upon  his  smile  with  a  warn:th  and  a  splend(  nr  that  leave  no  wi^h  for  other  suns. — 
The  woman,  like  the  milder  Q.ucen  of  night,  lives  but  for  one  object,  and  to  that  one 
object  she  ever  tiuns  the  same  unvarying  face,  whether  that  face  be  shrouded  in  the 
shadows  of  vice  or  lightened  by  the  sunshine  of  virtue;  or  if  her  gentle  ray  jienetrate 
beyond  her  peculiar  sphere,  'tis  only  seen  as  one  amidst  a  firmament  of  constellations 
that  adorn  creation.  Man,  then,  may  be  so  cultured  as  to  fit  the  several  individuals 
for  their  respective  stations  of  pre-eminence  or  sub'>rdination;  for  such  are  the  rela- 
tions they  must  assume  in  life.  Every  woman,  on  the  contrary,  in  the  sense  ia 
which  1  have  mentioned,  and  in  the  discharge  of  her  peculiar  duties,  is  equal,  and  has 
no  occasion  to  come  in  competition  with  the  rest  of  her  sex.  N^ow,  then,  let  us  see 
what  is  woman's  moral  preparation  for  this,  her  sphere  of  action  in  the  world,  under 
the  operation  of  that  system  which  has  been  stimulating  her,  by  all  its  sanctions,  to 
the  attainment  of  superiority  in  her  pursuits.  She  is  not  fitted  for  submission,  by  a 
discipline  which  has  taught  her  to  regard  a  station  of  inferiority  as  one  of  disgrace. 
That  distinguishing  virtue  of  the  woman — I  mean  gentleless — which,  like  the  fra- 
grance of  the  flower,  alone  gives  any  value  to  beauty,  is  greatly  impaired,  if  not  de- 
stroyed; for  the  oi)posite  feeling  of  fierce  contentious  emulation  has  usurped  its  [-lace 
and  withered  its  affectionate  impulses.  She  is  not  even  fitted  for  the  forbearance  and 
concession  demanded  of  her  in  every  relation  of  life;  for  she  has  been  taught  reso- 
lutely to  seek,  and  boldly  to  maintain,  |)re-eminence  over  all  around  her.  If  the  ex- 
cellence of  another  afi'ects  her  susceptible  mind  with  admiiation,  that  virtuous  feeling 
is  polluted  by  an  admixture  of  the  most  selfish  regrets;  and  the  disgrace  and  failure 
oi  another  do  not  always  fill  with  tears  those  eyes  which  liave  so  often  kindled  with 
exultation  at  the  abortions  of  her  fellows.     I  will  not  be  understood,  I  hope,  Mr. 


9 

President,  as  meaniiifr  tliat  every  woman  px])os((l  to  the  influonee  ot  lhi^4  improper 
system  becomes  the  uiiamiahle  being  I  have  described;  or  that  even  wliere  its  evil 
effects  are  discovered  in  the  vitiated  impulses  of  tlie  female  mind,  there  does  not  re- 
main much  to  redeem  thi'  ravafjes  whirli  a  vicious  culture  has  made.  The  rose  docs 
not  lose  its  fragrance,  though  its  delicate  leaves  be  torn  and  polluted  by  the  storm;  j-ct 
who  does  not  regret  lliat  a  flower  so  sweet  should  have  liad  its  beauty  so  marred. — 
So  there  is  an  elasticity  and  native  I'xeellcnce  in  the  female  li>?art  that  rej>els  much  of 
the  harm  to  which  this  system  exposes  it;  but  who  will  not  grieve  at  the  defilement 
it  does  contract,  and  wish  for  that  stainless  purity  which  seems  so  nearly  attained. 

Time  would  not  permit  me  to  enter  at  large  into  the  consideration  of  the  other 
evils  of  this  system,  though  it  is  the  less  material,  as  I  rely  cliicfly  in  my  arcument 
against  it,  on  the  objection  already  mentioned,  viz:  the  injurious  operation  of  the  whole 
system  on  the  female  character.  I  will  just  mention,  besitles,  that  the  excellence  in 
scholarship  likely  to  be  attained  amongst  girls  by  an  eager  competition  for  the  first 
rank,  is  not  often  of  a  very  superior  kind — the  exactions  made  upon  the  female 
jnind  by  the  sense  of  the  age  are  not  of  the  same  nature  as  those  made  upon  the 
other  sex — the  same  extent  of  cultivation,  the  same  amount  of  acquisition,  is  not  re- 
quired; and  as  the  object  set  before  the  aspiring  girl  is  not  the  attainment  of  any  par- 
ticular excellence,  but  only  the  occupation  of  the  first  place,  it  follows  that  her  suc- 
cess will  give  evidence  only  of  limited  acquirements.  This  in  fact  we  find  to  be 
often  the  case — the  trophies  of  success  often  crown  an  empty  head — the  pride  of 
superiority  often  animates  the  eye,  which  genius  has  never  fired  and  knowledge  has 
never  lightened. 

The  system  which  I  would  propose  to  substitute  for  the  one  which  seems  to  be 
founded  upon  such  erroneous  principles,  I  have  had  an  opportunity  of  seeing  applied 
to  every  variety  of  intellect  and  of  disposition;  and  the  result  of  this  abundant  expe- 
rience, has  confirmed  me  in  the  opinions  which  at  first  were  the  offspring  of  very 
limited  observation  and  reflection.  As  the  plan  is  very  sim[)lc  in  its  details,  and  will 
occupy  your  attention  but  a  few  moments  in  its  explanation,  I  will  make  no  apology 
for  describing  it  in  general  terms,  sufficiently  minute,  however,  to  enable  you  to  form 
a  correct  idea  of  the  spirit  and  princij)les  that  pervade  it. 

The  system  of  rewards  and  punishments  is  not  abandoned,  neither  indeed  is  that 
of  distinction;  but  the  fundamental  principle  of  the  plan  is  to  hold  out  these  rewards 
and  distinctions  as  objects  for  the  simultaneous  attainment  of  every  candidate.  Each 
one  may  attain  the  highest  rank  without  being  impeded  in  the  slightest  degree  by  the 
success  of  others.  The  grand  defect  of  the  other  system,  we  conceive  to  be,  that  the 
success  of  one  is  only  accomplished  by  the  discomfiture  of  others — whereas  in  this, 
the  fiiilurc  of  others  has  not  the  remotest  possible  influence  in  forwarding  the  success^ 


10 

fill.  A  certain  standard  of  excellence  in  scholarship  and  propriety  of  deportment  is 
set  brfore  the  jiipil  for  attainment,  and  each  one  is  subsequently  judged  acconlinif  as 
she  reaches  or  falls  short  of  that  standard.  It  is  evident  that  all  may  succeed— that 
none  need  he  defeated — and  indeed,  the  school  to  which  I  have  already  alluded,  and 
a  session  of  which  has  just  reached  its  termination,  [iresents  this  very  pleasing  ano- 
maly, that  of  the  whole  number  of  pupils,  with  a  single  exception,  every  individual 
has  attained  the  standard  presented  to  them,  and  is,  consequently,  entitled  to,  and  will 
receive  the  first  distinction.  The  standard  is  of  so  high  an  order,  that  we  believe  it 
has  ensured  at  least  as  great  a  proficiency  in  learning,  and  correctness  in  deportment, 
as  are  ordinarily  attained  by  the  two  or  three  successful  competitors  who  carry  ofl' the 
prizes  under  the  other  system,  at  the  expense  of  so  many  others.  We  will  not  say 
that  success  in  this  case  is  unattended  with  gratification,  or  even  exultation;  for  (he 
pupils  have  received,  and  have  well  merited,  the  approbation  of  their  teachers;  but  it 
is  unaccompanied  by  any  of  those  exciting  passions,  whose  injurious  influences  we 
have  been  contemplating  with  so  much  pain.  Were  it  proper  for  me  to  enter  at 
large  into  the  details  of  my  experience  on  this  subject,  I  might  tell  you,  sir,  of  the 
kindly  influence  exerted  b}'  this  system  ujjon  the  benevolent  and  social  afTections  of 
those  who  are  trained  under  it — of  the  utter  absence  of  all  animosities,  envyings  and 
jealousies — of  the  afTectionate  readiness  with  which  each  lends  assistance  to  the  other, 
and  of  the  high  intellectual  attainments  made  under  its  sanctions.  I  must  content 
myself  with  saying,  in  one  word,  that  the  mind  and  heart  of  the  girl  seem,  by  it,  to 
he  best  trained  for  the  duties  and  responsibilities  of  the  woman — that  she  is  taught 
in  childhood,  as  she  will  have  to  practise  in  maturer  life,  to  discharge  all  her  duties 
without  reference  to  her  companions — that,  as  the  elTect  of  this  system,  (to  use  the 
language  of  a  poet  who  is  an  ornament  to  the  sex, ) 

"From  her  heart  subdued," 

"All  haughty  dreams  of  power  will  wing  their  flight, 

"And  leave  high  place  for  martyr-fortitude, 

"True  fdith,  long  suffering  love." 

A  few  remarks  will  serve  to  explain  the  mode  of  estimating  the  success  or  failure 
of  the  pupil  in  attaining  the  required  standard.  The  preceptor  is  provided  with  a 
book,  in  which  he  records,  after  each  recitation,  the  manner  in  which  each  pupil  has 
recited.  Every  mistake  is  noted;  and  by  the  number  of  these  mistakes,  as  compared 
with  the  perfect  recitations,  is  the  pupil  judged  at  the  close  of  the  session;  and  such 
is  the  effect  of  thus  recording  and  attaching  importance  to  every  mistake,  that  in  a 
school  which  embraces  all  varieties  of  intellect,  I  have  repeatedly  known  a  hundred 
successive  lessons  to  be  recited  without  the  occurrence  of  a  single  error.  The  stand- 
ard proposed  for  attainment  may  be  regulated  by  the  experience  of  the  teacher, 


11 

1  hough  it  will  in  general  be  found  that  almost  any  standard  may  be  proposed,  if  the 
appointed  lessons  are  adapted  to  the  abilities  of  the  jiupil.  Let  it  be  distinctly  un- 
derstood, that  perfection  in  recitation  is  imperatively  demanded,  as  a  means  of  ob- 
taining reward  and  escaping  disgrace;  and  few  minds  will  be  found  so  callous  as  to 
be  insensible  to  this  never- relaxing,  though  gentle,  excitement. 

In  the  school  already  alluded  to,  the  first  standard  appointed,  was,  that  where  the 
recorded  mistakes  at  the  close  of  the  session  did  not  exceed  in  number  the  recorded 
perfect  lessons  by  more  than  one  hundred,  the  candidate  was  entitled  to  the  highest 
reward.  This  standard,  though  founded  upon  some  experience  under  the  old  system, 
was  soon  found  too  low,  though  its  conditions  were  rigidly  enforced;  and  it  was  next 
proposed,  that  the  recorded  mistakes  must  not  exceed  at  all  the  perfect  lessons.  This 
point,  though  seemingly  difficult  of  attaiimient,  was  so  readily  mastered,  that  the 
preceptor  was  induced  to  require  that  the  perfect  lessons  must  be  so  numerous  as. to 
exceed,  by  more  than  one  hundred,  the  number  of  recorded  mistakes.  It  was  at  the 
same  time  arranged,  that  all  moral  ilelinquencies  and  improprieties  of  deportment 
should  be  thrown,  at  a  certain  estimate,  into  the  same  scale  with  the  mistakes;  thus 
enhancing  the  difficulties  of  attaining  the  required  standard  to  all  who  subjected 
themselves  to  punishments  of  this  nature.  Every  deviation  from  propriety  thus 
swelling  the  list  of  mistakes,  no  one  who  cherished  the  faintest  wish  to  receive  a  re- 
ward, or  to  escape  disgrace,  can  withstand  such  influence.  The  punishment  eflects 
an  entire  abstinence  from  similar  ofl'ences  for  the  future,  and  at  the  same  time  applies 
a  powerful  stimulus  to  industry,  since  nothing  short  of  the  same  number  of  perfect 
lessons  can  redeem  the  delinquent's  lost  ground,  and  restore  her  to  her  former  place. 
Even  this  high  standard  is  attained  with  so  much  ease,  that,  as  I  have  already  said, 
nearly  a  whole  school  to  whom  it  vvas  proposed  has  recently  attained  it — and  most  of 
the  pupils  have  far  exceeded  the  required  point. 

No  other  discipline  than  what  is  involved  in  this  system  is  found  necessary,  even 
as  a  moral  restraint,  except  in  very  extreme  cases;  in  the  event  of  which,  the  refracto- 
ry subject  siiould  be  removed.  The  female  who  is  insensible  to  the  motives  pre- 
sented under  this  plan  of  discipline,  should  not  be  permitted  to  contaminate,  by  her 
example,  the  circle  to  which  she  is  so  uncongenial.  It  is  hardly  necessary  to  remark, 
that  an  inflexible  adherence  on  the  part  of  the  teacher  to  the  conditions  of  his  sys- 
tem is  absolutely  necessary,  and  it  will  always  meet  with  the  pleasing  return  of  a 
ready  acquiescence  on  the  part  of  the  pupil.  I  have  known  a  stubborn  temper  ef- 
fectually and  permanently  subdued  by  the  teacher's  deliberately  counting  every  word 
of  a  lesson  which  the  pupil  refused  to  recite,  and  recording  them  as  mistakes.  No 
oflTence  of  the  same  nature  was  ever  afterwards  committed  by  the  same  pupii,  or  by 
any  other  who  witnessed  the  punishment;  and  so  great  a  degree  of  industry  was 
made  necessary  by  this  loss,  in  order  to  restore  herself  to  her  forfeited  station,  that  the 
offending  subject  became  a  better  scholar,  as  well  as  a  better  girl,  in  consequence  of 
her  severely  punished  oflTence.  It  is  also  necessary,  or  at  least  expedient,  that  fre- 
quent candid  and  minute  reports  be  made  to  parents  and  guardians.  The  reasons  for 
this  are  sufficiently  apparent.  One  word  more,  sir,  in  reply  to  an  objection  which 
may  be  made  to  this  system.  It  may  be  supposed,  that  where  so  much  perfection  in 
recitation  ib  demanded,  the  lessons  must  be  short,  and  the  progress  in  education  slow. 
To  this  I  will  only  answer,  that  experience  has  abundantly  proved  the  reverse. — 


12 

The  capaciiies  of  pupils  are  tasked  to  tlioir  utmost  powers,  and  the  same  jicrvading 
stimulus,  whose  influence  we  have  already  witnessed,  is  sufficient  to  carry  them  for- 
ward to  the  full  accomplishinent  of  their  required  duties — the  only  limit  to  exaction 
need  be,  the  capabilities  of  the  pupil,  (regulated,  of  course,  by  a  proper  regard  to 
health,)  and  in  a  vast  majority  of  cases,  that  limit  will  be  attained. 

I  have  but  little  time  left,  and  you,  1  fear,  Mr.  President,  le-s  patience,  for  the  other 
proposed  branch  of  our  subject,  viz:  the  consideration  of  the  elTects  of  the  prevailing 
system  of  exciting  emulation  in  schools  upon  the  hardier  sex.  As  much  incidental 
reference,  however,  has  been  made  to  this  matter,  in  our  previous  enquiries,  and  the 
true  principles  upon  which  any  system  of  discipline  should  be  founded  have  been 
establislied,  it  will  be  the  less  necessary  for  me  to  consume  your  time  beyond  a  few 
minutes,  for  the  more  close  application  and  illustration  of  those  principles. 

The  man,  then,  being  destined  in  mature  life  to  mingle  with  his  felliAvs,  and  esta- 
blish amongst  them  relations  of  every  possible  variety — assuming  at  one  time  the  con- 
trol of  millions,  and  at  another  sinking  to  the  level  of  the  multitude — struggling,  at 
the  hazard  of  poverty  and  want,  for  distinction  in  the  ])articular  line  of  occupation  he 
may  have  adoj)ted — or  yielding,  at  length,  to  the  resistless  impulse  of  necessity,  and 
assuming  the  subordinate  station  for  which  he  is  fitted — the  boy  must  be  trained  to 
this,  his  destiny,  by  having  his  energies  stimulated  by  the  excitements  which  are  or- 
dinarily pro})o.sed  in  our  schools.  He  must  be  taught  to  struggle  for  pre-eminence 
while  a  hope  of  success  remains;  for  in  after  life  he 

"Loves  a  lofty  mark;"  •,       »         • 

and  he  must  learn,  by  frequent  experience,  to  bear  defeat  with  equanimity,  since  de- 
feat will  attend  him  through  life,  as  the  shadow,  the  substance.  And  here,  again,  the 
idea  I  wish  to  convey  is  best  illustrated  by  placing  the  two  sexes  in  contrast.  It  is  all- 
important  to  the  success  of  the  man,  that  ho  excel  in  acquirement  and  skill  his  rivals 
in  any  of  his  pursuits,  whether  it  be  one  of  the  learned  professions,  or  the  sciences, 
or  the  mechanic  arts.  To  the  woman,  it  matters  not  with  how  much  or  how  little 
fldelitv'  the  mothers  and  wives  around  her  fultil  their  duties — her  obligations  bear  no 
reference  to  theirs;  their  excellence  is  no  barrier  to  her  success;  their  delinquency 
will  not  make  hers  the  less  disgraceful  or  the  less  deliterious  in  its  influence.  The 
man  of  Inferior  powers,  who  has  been  taught  to  seek  the  first  place,  will  be  success- 
ful in  life,  if  he  attain  the  object  of  his  ambition,  however  humble  the  acquisition 
may  yet  leave  him — the  iroman  must  attain  a  degree  of  positive  excellence,  or  she 
will  be  a  curse,  whether  her  sphere  be  a  cottage  or  a  throne. 

Such,  Mr.  President,  I  conceive  to  be  the  true  light  in  which  we  should  regard  this 
interesting  subject.  I  trust  I  have  made  myself  intelligible  on  the  main  points  T  have 
endeavored  to  establish,  though  I  am  aware  that  much  more  time  is  requisite  than  I 
should  be  willing  to  consume,  at  your  expense,  for  their  faithful  elucidation.  I  beg 
you  to  accept  my  crude  observations,  on  a  subject  but  rarely  discussed,  with  that  in- 
dulgence to  which  an  enlightened  mind  always  disposes  its  possessor;  and  if  you  can 
winnow  one  grain  from  tlic  chall'  which  has  been  presented  to  you,  to  pardon  for  its 
Falve  its  valueless  accompaniments. 


X 


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